The concertmaster then asks the principal oboist to play the note A, and the orchestra tunes up to that note. It is always the oboist who plays the tuning note, and it is always A. This is because the pitch of A is the note that is determined by international conventions √ it is 440 vibrations per second, though (and I shouldn≠t be telling you this) most orchestras play at around 442 or even 444. Scandalous though that might seem, in flagrant violation of international law, notes sound a bit warmer and richer if they are slightly on the high side, so the pitch tends to creep up. Oboists spend their lives trying to stop this from happening, but what can you do? It is always the oboe that plays the A since the oboe gives a very accurate pitch, and is less able to wobble around than most instruments. It≠s another of those things that is always done the same way, so it is reliable, and quite undistracting.
I’ve also heard that we give the A because we are the least flexible (hah!) when it comes to pitch so everyone has to stick to whatever that particular oboist wants, that our timbre is easiest to tune to, that we cut through easier, and of course the real reason is because we are far superior to anyone else. ;-)
Just so you know.
(I read the paragraph I pasted above at the Vermont Symphony Orchestra blog, and here’s a direct link.)
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It?s a real challenge trying to update classical music into something palatable for the MTV generation.-David Garrett (read more)
I don’t know the name, and I don’t know anything about his playing. The article, which is talking not only about his music but about his looks, shows a very attractive picture of the musician.
But what I want to know: if you “update” classical music, is it still classical music?
Anyway, this great looking guy doesn’t want anyone to focus on his past modelling career, and these drop-dead gorgeous “angels” don’t want to be seen in sexy attire.
Me? I wouldn’t mind getting a makeover. (But still no tattoos.)
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Is it awful that I don’t know the name William Orbit?
I just read that this man, who is connected to the name Madonna (not the one from centuries ago, but the one that sings like a virgin … heh … oh, wait … I mean sings Like a Virgin, has a few kids, adopted another, and still sells sexy) among other folks.
The article about his new work begins:
WHEN William Orbit’s Orchestral Suite is first heard at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, there will be more at stake than just a few reviews.“It’s the rest of my life now,” says Orbit of his foray into the classical tradition. “It’s all I want to do. I’ve actually planned my life around it. Even if it goes down like a lead balloon.”
Has anyone ever seen a lead balloon? I’m just wondering.
But anyway, I’d love to hear the work. Would someone like to fly me to England? I have a passport. I’m ready. I’d have to bag a gig, though, so you’d have to cover the income loss too. (My only gig income of the summer so it’s not like I could just give it up, you know?) I have Orbit’s site up right now and I like the music (not his orchestral work) I hear on it. Is that foolish of me to admit this, being as I’m supposed to be this uptight symphony and opera musician? Uh-oh … I’m probably in trouble with some of my colleagues now. (If any read this thing any more.)
It seems as if lots of “pop” style folk (do they hate the word “pop” and am I incorrect in using it?) are moving into what we now call “classical music” realm.
But wait. Classical music is dying. Right?
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If you love System of a Down, you’ll probably really dig Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony.-Peter Oundjian (read here)
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Allen said today: “I have no idea what I am doing. But incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm.”
You can read that too, right here. (And many, other places, so I’ve found, although I haven’t read it on Opera Today yet.)
He’ll be directing Gianni Schicchi and movie director William Friedkin will do the other two one-acts.
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I ran across a funny picture today, as I was looking up old reviews I’ve saved.
Heh … yeah, that’s me with those bangs and leggings and all. This was in September of 1992. The picture isn’t very clear (the paper is old and I didn’t do any touching up at all).
I’m glad styles have changed. Not that I’m in style right now (jeans and a shirt or sweater are fine by me).
This was the one and only strike I’ve been involved in. It was also one of the shortest strikes in history. But it did mean the weekends concerts were canceled if I remember correctly. Trouble was, the day before this happened there was a huge ad in the Merc saying, “The Symphony WILL play this weekend,” because there had been rumours of negotiation problems. I was on staff as music librarian at the time, and I was in the office when the press person brought in that ad to show all of us. I had to hold my tongue, when I really wanted to yell out, “You have got to be kidding! We very well might go on strike and this will make everyone look awful.”
The strike was short, but not sweet. Those in the office were furious. I had to go in to quickly pick up some music work, and they didn’t want to speak to me. Musicians were also a bit leary of me. I cried. Management sent flowers. Musicians didn’t. Hmmm.
I originally held a sign that said something about management getting raises while musicians didn’t. Then I realized what I was holding; I sure hadn’t ever gotten a raise, and all I knew was that everyone in the office had had a wage freeze, so I quickly put that sign down and picked up this one.
Old history, to be sure.
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So AFI has put out their top 100 American movies 2007 list. Below is the list. Movies that are bold are the ones I’ve seen. I guess someday I’ll try to get to some of the others … not all, though; I can’t handle certain kinds of movies (too violent or scary and I’m outa there).
The American Film Institute’s 2007 list of the top-100 American movies:
1. “Citizen Kane,” 1941.
2. “The Godfather,” 1972.
3. “Casablanca,” 1942.
4. “Raging Bull,” 1980.
5. “Singin’ in the Rain,” 1952.
6. “Gone With the Wind,” 1939.
7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962.
8. “Schindler’s List,” 1993.
9. “Vertigo,” 1958.
10. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
11. “City Lights,” 1931.
12. “The Searchers,” 1956.
13. “Star Wars,” 1977.
14. “Psycho,” 1960.
15. “2001: A Space Odyssey,” 1968.
16. “Sunset Blvd.“, 1950.
17. “The Graduate,” 1967.
18. “The General,” 1927.
19. “On the Waterfront,” 1954.
20. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946.
21. “Chinatown,” 1974.
22. “Some Like It Hot,” 1959.
23. “The Grapes of Wrath,” 1940. (I did read the book.)
24. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” 1982.
25. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” 1962. (I did read the book.)
26. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” 1939.
27. “High Noon,” 1952.
28. “All About Eve,” 1950.
29. “Double Indemnity,” 1944.
30. “Apocalypse Now,” 1979.
31. “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941. (And I also read the book.)
32. “The Godfather Part II,” 1974.
33. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1975. (I read the book and saw the play back in the 70′s.)
34. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” 1937.
35. “Annie Hall,” 1977.
36. “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” 1957.
37. “The Best Years of Our Lives,” 1946.
38. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” 1948.
39. “Dr. Strangelove,” 1964.
40. “The Sound of Music,” 1965.
41. “King Kong,” 1933.
42. “Bonnie and Clyde,” 1967.
43. “Midnight Cowboy,” 1969.
44. “The Philadelphia Story,” 1940.
45. “Shane,” 1953.
46. “It Happened One Night,” 1934.
47. “A Streetcar Named Desire,” 1951.
48. “Rear Window,” 1954.
49. “Intolerance,” 1916.
50. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001.
51. “West Side Story,” 1961. (I also saw the musical on stage.)
52. “Taxi Driver,” 1976. (Saw it for the first time just this week.)
53. “The Deer Hunter,” 1978.
54. “M-A-S-H,” 1970.
55. “North by Northwest,” 1959.
56. “Jaws,” 1975.
57. “Rocky,” 1976.
58. “The Gold Rush,” 1925.
59. “Nashville,” 1975.
60. “Duck Soup,” 1933.
61. “Sullivan’s Travels,” 1941.
62. “American Graffiti,” 1973.
63. “Cabaret,” 1972.
64. “Network,” 1976.
65. “The African Queen,” 1951.
66. “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” 1981.
67. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, 1966.
68. “Unforgiven,” 1992.
69. “Tootsie,” 1982.
70. “A Clockwork Orange,” 1971. (I read the book.)
71. “Saving Private Ryan,” 1998.
72. “The Shawshank Redemption,” 1994.
73. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” 1969.
74. “The Silence of the Lambs,” 1991. (I read the book.)
75. “In the Heat of the Night,” 1967.
76. “Forrest Gump,” 1994.
77. “All the President’s Men,” 1976.
78. “Modern Times,” 1936.
79. “The Wild Bunch,” 1969.
80. “The Apartment, 1960.
81. “Spartacus,” 1960.
82. “Sunrise,” 1927.
83. “Titanic,” 1997.
84. “Easy Rider,” 1969.
85. “A Night at the Opera,” 1935.
86. “Platoon,” 1986.
87. “12 Angry Men,” 1957.
88. “Bringing Up Baby,” 1938.
89. “The Sixth Sense,” 1999.
90. “Swing Time,” 1936.
91. “Sophie’s Choice,” 1982.
92. “Goodfellas,” 1990.
93. “The French Connection,” 1971.
94. “Pulp Fiction,” 1994.
95. “The Last Picture Show,” 1971.
96. “Do the Right Thing,” 1989.
97. “Blade Runner,” 1982.
98. “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” 1942.
99. “Toy Story,” 1995.
100. “Ben-Hur,” 1959.
I’m guessing most readers will have seen more than I. Anyone?
You can read the thing here. (Warning; a bit ‘o “language” in this one, so if you have delicate ears/eyes, maybe you want to skip it.)
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… if I had no need to work, anyway:
Appomattox Public Casting Call Press Release
San Francisco, June 19, 2007 – San Francisco Opera announces a public casting call for volunteer supernumeraries for the Company’s October 2007 world premiere production of Philip Glass’s Appomattox. The public casting call will take place on Saturday, June 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Zellerbach A rehearsal hall (located at 300 Franklin Street, on the corner of Hayes and Franklin in San Francisco).Men, women, and children are needed to portray supernumerary Civil War soldiers and refugees. Acting/performing arts experience is preferred, however no prior experience is necessary, just the enthusiasm to be a part of San Francisco Opera and a commitment to a minimum number of rehearsals and all performances. A work permit is required for children under age 18. Members of the public interested in auditioning, or requesting further information, should call 415-565-3200.
Supernumeraries, or “supers,” are people of all ages and backgrounds who work with, and share the stage with, the many talented and acclaimed artists who bring San Francisco Opera productions to life on the stage of the historic War Memorial Opera House. Supers volunteer their time and act as extras, fully made-up and in costume, on the stage in non-speaking roles.
Commissioned by San Francisco Opera, Appomattox explores the characters of Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant and the circumstances leading up to the South’s surrender to the North at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, bringing the Civil War to an end. In addition to renowned composer Philip Glass, the production’s creative team includes acclaimed stage director Robert Woodruff, Academy and Tony Award-winning librettist Christopher Hampton, and champion of new music Dennis Russell Davies in his San Francisco Opera conducting debut. Baritone Dwayne Croft and bass-baritone Andrew Shore portray Generals Lee and Grant in this intense look at a key moment in our nation’s history. Appomattox will be presented in six performances October 5-20, 2007 at the War Memorial Opera House.
Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be so super for me, as I’m not into acting and all. But I think some people I know (like our son, Jameson) would get a kick out of this. (And he really loves Philip Glass, too.) If it was all happening in the summer I’d encourage him to give it a go, but he’ll have started college by then, so oh well!
In other news … I can’t believe I just turned OFF the baseball game, but sometimes I get so frustrated. The Giants can’t seem to win at all these days. Was Zito a big waste of money? I wonder. And that other Barry? He hits home runs, sure, but the rest of the time it’s been pretty bleak in Barryland. Sigh.
I think I’ll go clean a bedroom. It might be more fun, and certainly be more satisfying.
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